BIOS

Sen. Mike Duffy pays back $90,172 in living expenses

Sen. Mike Duffy says he has fulfilled his promise to repay “the allowance associated with my house in Ottawa,” giving back $90,172.

“I have always said that I am a man of my word,” Duffy said in a statement.

“In keeping with the commitment I made to Canadians, I can confirm that I repaid these expenses in March 2013.”

The Senate confirmed that the Receiver General had been given the money.

Duffy had earlier said he “may have been mistaken” when he filled out Senate forms to claim the housing allowance given to senators whose primary residences are located more than 100 kilometres from Ottawa.

“What we’ve got here is a case where the rules aren’t clear,” Duffy told CTV Atlantic back in February.

“I filled in a form that the Senate has, which I may have filled in incorrectly.”

The senator had claimed $42,802 for living expenses in the Ottawa area since September 2010. Senators who live more than 100 kilometres from the capital can claim up to $21,000 in housing and meal expenses annually.